U.S. Postal Service: Saturday letter delivery to end in August

The postmaster general announced Wednesday that the U.S. Postal Service intends to halt Saturday delivery of most mailers, letters and catalogs in August, ending a 150-year tradition.

"We are simply not in a financial position where we can continue to make six-day letter delivery," Patrick R. Donahoe, postmaster general and CEO, told reporters during a morning news conference.

Play Video

USPS to announce major service changes

As CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports, the plan to shrink delivery from six days a week to five would only affect first-class mail, while packages, mail-order medicines, priority and express mail would still be delivered on Saturdays.

The Postal Service in November reported an annual loss of a record $15.9 billion for the last budget year and forecast more red ink in 2013, capping a tumultuous year in which it was forced to default on billions in retiree health benefit prepayments to avert bankruptcy.

The Postal Service is in the midst of a major restructuring. Since 2006, it has cut annual costs by about $15 billion and reduced the size of its career workforce by 193,000 or by 28 percent, officials say. It also slashed hours of service at about half the nation's 26,000 post offices.

Wednesday's move accentuates one of the agency's strong points. Package delivery has increased by 14 percent since 2010, officials say, while the delivery of letters and other mail has declined.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the move will save the struggling postal service $2 billion a year.

"It's a proper business decision and (in the) long run, good for the Postal Service and good for Americans," Coburn said.

CBS News reported in 2009, watch at left, how the familiar blue mailbox on the corner may disappear

The Postal Service has lost $41 billion during the past six years as more and more Americans turned to private shippers, email and online banking.

Despite all the changes, it's still not enough. David Walker, a former government watchdog, is part of a panel looking at possible postal reforms.

Walker told Cordes the new five-day-a-week measure "won't come close to solving the Postal Service's problem. It's got to look at more fundamental changes in its infrastructure, its compensation costs, its retirement obligations, and also what it does and who does its business."

Material prepared for the Wednesday press conference by the postmaster general says the agency's market research and other research has indicated that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs.

"The American public understands the financial challenges of the Postal Service and supports these steps as a responsible and reasonable approach to improving our financial situation," Donahoe said.

The president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Fredric Rolando, said the end of Saturday mail delivery is "a disastrous idea that would have a profoundly negative effect on the Postal Service and on millions of customers," particularly businesses, rural communities, the elderly, the disabled and others who depend on Saturday delivery for commerce and communication.

There's just so much the Postal Service can do without congressional approval. Despite years of begging by postmasters general, Congress never passed a reform bill that would have given the Postal Service more flexibility to modernize and streamline its service.

Asked whether the Postal Service is making this announcement because they're trying to force Congress to act, Coburn said, "No, I don't think so at all. Look, they're in survival mode. You're not going to have any post office. I mean, here's the alternative: They're losing $25 million dollars a day. A day. They have to do something."

Coburn and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the two top Republicans on the House and Senate committees that oversee the Postal Service will issue a letter Wednesday going to House and Senate leaders, asking them to support the elimination of Saturday service and change the law that has prevented the USPS from doing this in the past. The letter reads, in part, "What has impeded the Postal Service from phasing out universal Saturday delivery of letters is an appropriations rider carried in law since 1984 that ties six-day mail delivery to the acceptance of roughly $100 million in reimbursement from the federal government for services rendered by the Postal Service. According to Postal Service estimates, the rider constitutes a more than $2.5 billion annual unfunded mandate. With the current [fiscal year] 2013 government funding resolution set to expire at the end of March, we ask that the six-day mail rider be omitted from any subsequent government funding legislation, enabling the Postal Service to implement this necessary reform without impediment."

And, they point out: "This change has bipartisan support. President Obama has repeatedly called for moving to five-day delivery of mail, most recently in his FY 2013 budget. Furthermore, according to an October 2011 Quinnipiac poll fully 79 percent of Americans endorse the shift."

Technically, the Postal Service is not allowed to its reduce service unless Congress changes the law, but lawyers for the Postal Service think that they have "figured out a way around the law."

[GoUnion86]

Fuzzy math.

A 14% increase in package delivery would off-set much of the letter decline. 193000 fewer employees in 2012 and still a 16 billion dollar loss? Get real! This is nothing but accounting tricks and scare tactics to push for privatization.

[Barry-been-inhalin]

Long overdue. Like that lost package, this cut should have been found, years ago.

[zmonkee]

Fed-Up_Patriot replies: Here's my proposal for turning USPS around making it a service people want to use again and help it to start turning a profit.

The front desk which deals with the public should be open 6 days a week during the lunch hour and the same is true for the hours between 5h00PM and 7h00PM. (yes you heard me right 7PM maybe even 7h30) The mail can be taken and stamps sold during these hours.. Each post office needs to have a measured guarantee of wait time during these critical hours.. Mail taken does not need to be processed the same day. So that is where the cost savings will come from. If lines are backlogged more then 5 minutes people from the back need to be brought to the front. Postal workers would have lunch at 1:00. Mail sorting in the back will mostly be done Monday, Wednesday and Friday during non-critical hours dealing with the public. Tuesday and Thursday these activities would be greatly reduced. To get sufficient hours in, some workers will need to be able to adjust work task as demands warrant it.. Some workers would sort mail a few hours then step up to the counter during critical hours of high demand.. This flexibility in work activities would allow for a slight reduction in overall staffing. Lastly and most importantly - the budget shortfall should be made up for by greatly increasing the postage fees on JUNK MAIL.. This is something everybody has been wanting for the longest time... As postage fees for the average Joe continues to go up every couple of months - it seems that junk mail has been given a free ride..- . What if junk mail was charged 1st class postage rates? I see many problems solved with that idea. :)


This is great in theory...BUT...the beloved unions would NEVER allow someone to work those "CRAZY" hours or show that great customer service--

[Fed-Up_Patriot]

Like I said... I blame management 50% and the antiquated union rules 50%. Management is at fault for the lunch hour.. and I think the union rules evening hours and weekends. This problem has persisted day in and day out for years if not decades.. It's not like they didn't know.

[zmonkee]

Why are people blaming the "right" or "wall street" for the Post Office being BROKE??

[TimeToEvolve]

We need to push back hard on these Wall Street bought and paid for Congresional critters who are creaming over their right wing Fedex and UPS corporate masters.

[TimeToEvolve]

Destroying the postal service is the wet dream of the corrupt and paid off Republicons and some Democrats. They want to get rid of the largest union in AMerica so their corporate masters on Wall Street can steal even more of our wealth.

Touche' to Ayn Rand and Reagan and Norquist and the rest of the ***** anti-American worker nuts.

[zmonkee]

Timetoevolve- the "largest union in America" is BROKE.....that says something about unions!!
I think it's time for you to evolve and come to grips with that-

[Barry-been-inhalin]

Is there any government agency that is run efficiently and not bankrupt? None comes to mind. And you libs want government providing your healthcare.....one of the most important issues to any individual. LOL

[TimeToEvolve]

Remember it was the private sector (the Wall Street Banksters) that decimated the economy. The corporations are by nature against freedom and democracy.

[Barry-been-inhalin]

Don't forget the number one democrat propping up Fannie and Freddie the who time insisting everything was A Okay. These crazy mortgage loans are what wrecked the economy and Obama and the rest of the dems backed them the entire time. Barney Frank is the one most responsible for our problems.

[Ellen753]

This story is a great example of the why mainstream media should not be trusted to keep anyone reasonably informed. There is NO mention of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act passed in 2006, introduced by a GOP lawmaker and signed by President Bush.

This piece of legislation mandated the USPS pre-fund the pension fund for 75 years within a ten year window. Without this obligation the organization would be in the red. Yet there is no mention at all of these concrete shoes.

[frankie2fing]

That is because the GOP is not a organization that likes democracy. The hate Unions, particularly the POSTAL UNION. This is what they are trying to destroy, and if the postal service has to die, if the general public gets hosed, so be it.

Unions are the PINACLE of democracy. Every officer is VOTED in by the members. Expendiatures (ALL OF THEM YOU TEABAGGING TOOLS) must receive a majority vote. If a non-union shop wants to organize, the MAJORITY must vote for the Union. Same thing if they want to decertify. What is wrong with you teabagging (shout out to chuck) knuckledragging tools.

When the Unions are gone, you will be working for the same wages as the Chinese. Even you non-union idiots who think you are getting a great wage because the company LIKES you.

[zmonkee]

ask the family members of the former employees of Hostess, what they think of unions--

[Maerzie]

The only reason the Post Office is in financial difficulty is because the Republican majority passed a law forcing them to bank 70 years of pension for every employee. How many other businesses have to bank that much pension? ZERO! This damage to our postal service is very politically motivated, and hopefully enough people see what's REALLY happening and call their Congress-people. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Republicans, who faulted our Congress with the disgrace of being the most unproductive Congress in the history of our country, obviously only managed to cause damage to our country. Getting this damage UNdone is always much more difficult than it was for them to cause it. But, it IS possible. Most people have no clue what or why this has even been happening!

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Nope, but they FORGOT to include "political pressure" The only communication with the outside world, that some people have, is our U.S. Mail. Most small businesses depend on it!

[munseym1]

What difference does it make who the majority was? 2/3 of the cosponsors of the bill were Democrats. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate. It doesn't get more bipartisan than that. Now you want to blame the Republicans?

[WhereisOT]

A big **** you says the gop to the US Postal Service...
And All those who depend on it...
And the disgraces of the gop are for small businesses...Not really..
Not unless they rake in millions/billions a year...if so, on top of pure profits feel free to receive welfare/entitlements..."survival of the fittest"
Its American business the republican way....

No wonder them there "others" are seen as a joke the World over...

[zmonkee]

How does getting mail on Saturdays benefit small businesses? The majority of them are closed on Saturday's anyway??